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A petition calling on the Government to reject digital ID cards has hit two million signatures within 48 hours. Sir Keir Starmer announced on Friday that a compulsory ID scheme for UK workers would be introduced by the Labour Government before 2029. The proposal has been compared to North Korea which is one of the few other countries to use a similar system. The petition urged the Government to promise against bringing in digital ID cards, declaring: "We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system." By Saturday morning alone, it had collected nearly half a million additional signatures, taking the total over 2,000,000 entries by 8.30pm. Petitions receiving more than 100,000 signatures are eligible for parliamentary debate consideration. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage condemned the proposed system, branding it "an anti-British card". Writing in his Daily Express column, he declared: "The Labour Government's plan to impose digital ID cards on all adults will do nothing to combat illegal immigration. But it will give the state more power to control the British people." Ministers had previously indicated that the ID would solely serve as verification of someone's employment rights in the UK, forming part of measures to tackle illegal immigration. Nevertheless, Darren Jones, who is spearheading the policy as chief secretary to the Prime Minister, suggested that digital ID might have wider uses down the line. Speaking at the Global Progress Action summit in London, he said: "If we get this digital ID system working and the public being with us, that will be the bedrock of the modern state and will allow for really quite exciting public service reform in the future." Earlier in the same conference, Sir Keir had suggested that digital ID could convince voters that the immigration system was "fair", stating: "Decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them." Citizens won't be forced to carry the ID, which will be stored on smartphones, nor will they be required to present it. The Daily Star has reached out to Downing Street for a comment. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .
